The Reason Why
by Ant-Carrying-A-Rubber-Tree
Summary: Katara and Zuko never showed their opinions on a specific scene in the Avatar play. So why not now? Oneshot. May be slightly OOC.


**A/N: So yeah, now it's Avatar. This plot bunny wanted to eat my brain if I didn't do this. I'll post for my Kagome x Trunks fic soon! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.**

**...~*0*~...**

**Katara**

Katara glanced at Zuko. This was bad. Very bad. _Why does this play have to be so embarrassing? _she thought as she buried her face in her hands.

The Ember Island Players had just gotten to the part of the play where "Katara" and "Zuko" were together, Katara confessing her 'affections' to Zuko.

_Zuko is pretty attractive though…_ _No! Bad Katara!_ She mentally scolded herself. _Zuko is not cute! You have Aang, remember? …Even if Zuko's eyes on you just make you want to melt, and you enjoy it when he practices his bending with no shirt on, and-_

Katara shook her head and groaned. Bad thoughts! And she didn't even want her brother – scratch that, make it "anyone" – to see this part of her life, even if this was definitely **not** how it happened! The pair had merely spoken… And gotten out of there… Seeing the actors get closer together, she blushed even redder. Oh, this play idea of her brother's was not entertaining.

At all.

…**~*0*~…**

**Zuko**

Zuko watched Katara groan and shake her head. He felt her pain, and not just because of this specific scene. The whole play practically screamed, "Here, Zuko! Have all of your bad memories and mistakes washed up and shoved down your throat! It'll be fun~!"

For the record, it was **not **fun.

Zuko just sat there, wallowing in despair until he saw Katara blush. _She looks so cute like that, _he thought, but then caught himself. _Grah! What in Agni's name am I thinking? _

The actors playing the two benders got closer, making Katara blush redder and Zuko think of her as even cuter, unable to stop the thoughts. He turned slightly red, barely even noticeable, and trained his eyes on the play, for the scene had changed.

…**~*0*~…**

**Toph**

As everyone walked out of the theatre complaining, and a little frightened, Toph was thinking about what had happened in the play during a specific scene. Katara and Zuko's hearts were beating so fast and hard she thought they would come out of their chests! Toph could also feel Katara fidgeting slightly next to her, obviously uncomfortable.

_Ha! _She thought while smiling cheekily, _Finally, some blackmail against Sugar Queen and Sparky. _

…**~*0*~…**

**Aang**

Aang… was upset, to put it mildly. It was his first encounter with pains of the heart, and he wasn't liking it much. He thought he and Katara loved each other… right?

_Bah, who am I kidding?_ _I can't even convince myself. _

…**~*0*~…**

**Katara, After the Last Battle**

The war was over. _At last, _Katara thought, _freedom!_

She felt like she could smile without a care and cry like no tomorrow, all at once.

On the smiling side, there would be no more fighting, no more death; no more need for constant paranoia. She could do what she wanted with her life now, and it could finally be peaceful.

On the crying side, now there would be no reason for their little misfit group to be together. It was really possible that she would never see any of them again. (Other than her brother, of course.) Katara was mostly afraid of losing one person, though.

The new Fire Lord, Zuko.

The Water tribe girl had finally admitted – only to herself – that she really liked the man. Maybe even loved him, but she was far too stubborn to ever think that. She liked the way he looked at her with his golden eyes, spoke with that masculine voice of his, how he was so kind behind that mask of indifference… She just couldn't take the thought of leaving him! No matter how much she pretended to hate him as a front, she would miss him dearly.

Katara laughed bitterly at herself, knowing she'd never tell Zuko about her love for him. She'd get over him… eventually. _I'm a peasant of the _Water _tribe! How could he ever like a girl like me?_

And so she decided she would immerse herself in becoming a healer and try to forget about the fire bender.

…**~*0*~…**

**Zuko, After the Last Battle**

_Father… Father is finally gone! _As Zuko realized this, he felt a huge weight fall off of his shoulders, but a new – yet lighter – one replaced it. _I will have to be the new Fire Lord. But I will be a better one. Much better than that man was!_

He sat on the ground, thinking hard. What would he do? How would he get the people here to accept him? He was the banished son of their Lord, and joined up with the enemy. And if they only knew that Zuko had fallen for a Water tribe peasant-girl…

He looked up at the sky, breathing out a sigh. He just felt so… lost. He knew there was no way such a beautiful girl could even stand to be with him and his scarred face. Katara was just so pretty, her hair flowing behind her when she laughed, her sapphire eyes dancing with mirth. And she was so kind and innocent. She hated being a blood bender and always wanted to be a healer.

Zuko was not as stubborn as Katara about his feelings, but just as afraid. He feared – what was to him – an obvious rejection and did not want to ruin their friendship in such a way. _Oh, how could a beautiful Water tribe girl like her ever love a man like me?_

…**~*0*~…**

**Toph, After the Last Battle**

Toph was banging her head against the wall. These people were so dense! They were the only ones who didn't see that they loved each other. Even hearing the two's heartbeats made Toph want to face palm. It was so stupid!

But then Toph got an evil plan… She smiled widely in anticipation and prepared a letters for the two of them with Suki, both in a different kind of fancy script.

…**~*0*~…**

_Dear Zuko,_

_Please come to the fountain in the courtyard at 10 o'clock tonight. I need to speak to you privately._

_From,_

_Katara_

…**~*0*~…**

_Dear Katara,_

_Come to the fountain in the courtyard at 10 o' clock so we can talk._

_From,_

_Zuko_

…**~*0*~…**

The pair was excited, to say the least, about their little meeting near the fountain. It was dark, and most were asleep, so Katara and Zuko snuck out into the palace, not knowing Toph and Suki were watching from some bushes.

_She is so beautiful in the moonlight_, Zuko thought, _but when did I become such a sap? _Katara was thinking similar thoughts, and the silence was awkward. Very awkward. So Toph took things into her own hands and used her earth bending to shove the two together and shouted, " I am not letting you two out of there until you tell each other! You're so lucky and you don't even realize it! Come on, Suki." And walked away. Suki followed, giving them a sympathetic look.

The two were now chest to chest and face to face, crushed together by the slabs rock. "So…" Katara started, blushing, "what do you think she wanted us to talk about?"

Zuko remained silent, trying to control himself and not kiss her, but was in the process of failing miserably. And so, he stopped trying to control himself, and kissed her with all of his love and passion behind it.

And to his surprise, she returned it.

They pulled back, slowly opening their eyes. Katara realized what she had done and quickly turned her face around, looking redder than one of Zuko's shirts. This kiss had been their ticket out of their position, apparently, and the rock crumbled to dust, carried away by the wind.

Katara and Zuko stumbled to the ground but stood and looked at each other with pride and stubbornness only the two of them could have. Katara turned to run, but Zuko caught her arm. She was surprised, even as he said, "Wait. I must tell you something. Important." So she stood, waiting. "I-I love you, and Iwashopingyoufeelthesame?" The last bit came out in a rush, like he was afraid someone would stop him.

Katara merely smiled and nodded, giving him an embrace. The moment was loving and peaceful, but broken when Katara said, "You do realize that this means we're going to have to kill Toph, right?"


End file.
